1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to a stable support for structures at or above the surface of a fluid medium and in particular to a communications buoy for use in the ocean.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many types of floation devices exist with differing characterisitcs.
Damper plates and toroid shaped flotation devices have been used to create buoys which are wave followers. For example, see Buoy Engineering, H. O. Berteaux, John and Sons, 1976 Pg. 212-213. These surface following buoys are subject to strong heave and pitch due to the motion of the ocean.
A more stable buoy can be built by decreasing the cross section of the buoy at the water level. Such devices experience less heave. The mass of the buoy can also be distributed to create a righting moment. This will decrease the pitch.
Further stability can be obtained by surface decoupling. A bouyant cylinder with a counterweight suspended from its bottom is a typical example, Berteaux, supra. Such spar buoys cannot have much reserve bouyancy and usually have a large draft. These factors mitigate the usefulness of these types of buoys in deep water.